Self Destruction
by ClaireytheFairy
Summary: Damon won't pretend to be the hero but he will do everything in his power to prevent her from getting hurt. It used to be him who would leave these marks all over her skin and soul. Damon/Caroline friendship. Established dark Klaus/Caroline "relationship"


**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

_Sort of a sequel to another oneshot "Addiction" but can act as a standalone. Established Caroline/Klaus "relationship"  
>.nets/7416403/1/Addiction _

"Caroline," his voice interrupts her as she brushes her hair. She pulls her hands away from the golden locks and raises an eyebrow.

"Yes?" she queries him. He watches her for some time before stepping closer and sitting onto her bed. He absently toys with the covers,

"What are you doing Caroline?" his voice is exasperated and she realises that he looks tired. She has never seen him look so utterly exhausted. She sighs and puts down the brush.

"What am I doing with what?" she asks him. He rolls his eyes, but the usual snarky or smug smirk is absent.

"What are you doing with him?" She freezes, knowing exactly who he is referring to.

"Damon, what I do in my own time is none of your business," she informs him. Blue eyes meet her and she's struck, not for the first time, with how handsome he is. He stands and comes towards her. His hand caresses her cheek and slides down to brush her shoulder.

"He's not good for you Caroline. He'll only hurt you," he informs her and the concern in his voice makes her flinch.

_(Because she knows he's right)_

She would do anything to get rid of him because she's not willing to admit that he's right; that she has no idea of what she's doing. So she uses her last resort in an attempt to make him forget his concern and leave,

"Well, you would know all about abusive relationships, wouldn't you?" To his credit, he does flinch at her comment but he still doesn't leave. Because it used to be him, who would leave these marks all over her skin and soul.

He seems even more tired than before.

His hand which is still resting on her shoulder begins to stroke a mark that sits at the base of her throat. It's faint and it would be hard to notice the white scar against her pale skin, but he knows it's there.

It's the last reminder of what they had.

_(Or what they didn't have)_

"Why are you here Damon?" she asks him, "Really?" He stands there, barely moving with no sound of breath escaping his lips and no heartbeat echoing from his still frame. And it's times like these that she cannot ignore the fact that he's dead.

_(Or the fact that she is too)_

He tilts his head and moves to say something but is interrupted before he can.

"He's leaving. That is what he is doing," the crisp, British accent makes Damon's hand stop its actions and he pulls away from her to face the subject of their conversation. Caroline is amazed to see the lack of fear in Damon's eyes. Again, he looks simply weary. He doesn't move to fight Klaus or even to say anything. He just stands there. Although, it doesn't escape Caroline's notice that he has moved a fraction of an inch so as he is positioned slightly in front of her.

It doesn't escape Klaus' notice either.

"Playing the hero are we?" Klaus' voice is mocking and the corner of Damon's mouth twists into a slight sneer.

"No. Been there. Done that. It's overrated." Klaus laughs,

"I could have told you that. It's much more fun being the bad guy. Don't you agree?" Damon shakes his head is disagreement and Klaus looks surprised,

"Not the hero. Not the villain. What are you trying to be then? Sorry to inform you but the role of damsel in distress has already been cast," he says with a grin, looking towards the young, blonde vampire. She frowns in anger and moves as if to go towards him but Damon reaches out his hand to restrain her.

"I'm not trying to be anyone. I seem to fail whenever I try to be anything else," Damon informs Klaus coldly and Klaus laughs at the comment. Caroline shrinks back at the sound of that laugh. She used to think that Damon was the big, bad wolf.

_(Now she realises that he's nothing more than the pig in the straw house, waiting to be blown away)_

"Come Caroline." She hasn't noticed that he has stopped laughing until his command sounds. She digs her nails into her palm, giving her strength to resist. She's glad that Damon has been forcing her to drink vervain, Klaus' compulsion is useless against her.

But he's still able to take her by force. Not that he will need it.

He starts to move towards her but Damon meets him halfway and raises an arm to push him away.

"Leave her alone," Damon's voice is fearless and Caroline wonders how he isn't trembling in the corner under the stare that Klaus was giving him now. Klaus looks at him in disgust and then grins amused,

"I don't need your permission. She will come willingly." He meets her eyes now and she feels hypnotised, and she knows that it has nothing to do with the compulsion. Her addiction is still there and her cravings have returned, wanting to be fed.

_(Wanting him)_

She begins to walk towards him; to take his outstretched hand. But by some miracle, she briefly averts her eyes from his to meet Damon's. In that moment, she sees everything that she has never known. And she understands that he will not stop her, if she wants to go.

Not because he loves her.

_(Because he understands her)_

Those stunning blue eyes which had her hypnotised long before Klaus' ever did, and she knows that she is still not thinking of compulsion. She realises that he hasn't once called her Blondie or Barbie tonight and that thought thrills her and terrifies her. Because she realises that if she leaves now, she will be "Caroline" forever. That there will be no escape through Vampire Barbie or Blondie or any other insulting, pet name that Damon comes up with.

_(And the thought of being Caroline forever terrifies her)_

She takes Damon's hand instead of Klaus' and for the first time all evening Damon moves swiftly, pulling her towards him to hold her in a crushing embrace. Klaus watches them and she wonders if this is what it feels like to know that you are going to die.

_(To know that he is going to die)_

"You cannot stay away forever," his voice is cruel and she fears that he might be right. But she feels Damon shaking his head.

"Yes. She can." Damon's voice is clear and somehow still unafraid. She turns to face Klaus and whispers,

"I'm not coming back." He watches her in something akin to confusion before frowning and disappearing. She holds Damon tightly, because they're still alive and they're here, even if it is only until he returns. He watches her and she watches him and she realises that he doesn't look so tired anymore. She smiles,

"I'm not going back." He nods,

"I know."

_(And for the first time, it's not a lie)_


End file.
